In celebration of the 195th anniversary of Peru’s independence, the Peruvian Embassy in Korea will host a reception at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Thursday evening, offering a range of Peruvian cuisine specially made and directed by chef Maria Rosa Vasquez. The Peruvian Food Festival will also run from Friday to Aug. 10, a lunch and dinner buffet served at the hotel’s Terrace restaurant. Admission fees range between 72,000 won ($63) and 98,000 won, depending on day of the week and time. For further information, contact the hotel at 02-799-8166.

Growing as partners

Peru and Korea established diplomatic relations on April 1, 1963. The resident Embassy of Peru in Korea was inaugurated in 1984. Peru and Korea have instituted a “strategic partnership” since the official visit of Peruvian President Ollanta Humala to Korea in May 2012.

Fruits and industry

In 2015, total Peruvian exports to Korea amounted to $1.08 billion, with the main goods being minerals, coffee, seafood products, fresh grapes and bananas. Korean exports to Peru totaled $1.2 billion that same year, mostly vehicles and auto parts, electronics and heavy machinery.

A history of investment

Korean firms such as LG, Samsung, Posco and SK have been doing business in Peru for a long time. The approximate amount of annual Korean investment in Peru is $284 million. Dohwa Engineering and Busan Transportation Cooperation are the most recent Korean companies to engage in important investment ventures in Peru with local and foreign firms.

Susana Yturry

Susan Yturry holds a degree in agro-industrial engineering from Federico Villarreal National University in Lima. In August 2015, she earned a master’s degree in business administration (global MBA) from Korea University in Seoul. While in Lima, Yturry worked at the Peruvian Exporters Association (ADEX) and for the managing committees of 230 firms related to fisheries and aquaculture, mining, forestry, packaging, service exports, imports and trade. She also provided advice on commercial and sanitary regulation policies in various technical commissions with Peruvian regulators, such as the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, the Fisheries Technical Institute, and the National Service for Agrarian Sanitation of Peru.

Peruvian Ambassador

Jaime Pomareda

Born in Lima in 1953, Jaime Pomareda studied at the Catholic University of Peru and later graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of Peru in 1976. He was previously posted to Washington D.C., Vancouver, Manila, Singapore and Hong Kong before being appointed ambassador to Korea in December 2012. His area of expertise at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is promotion of trade and investments, and economic negotiations.